Labatt Nida takes up post, ‘will stay until replacement comes’

18 July 2018

Newly arrived Labor Attaché Nida Romulo says she will do as
the Home Office has told her to do – to be the Philippine labor attaché in Hong
Kong until her replacement comes.

Labatt Nida disclosed this in an interview with The SUN on
Jul 17, her third day in office. She was sent by Labor Secretary Silvestre
Bello III to head the Hong Kong post as a replacement of Labor Attaché Jalilo
dela Torre, who was recalled for still unknown reasons.

But she could be caught in a bind come Aug 1, when Labatt
Jolly is supposed to return to his post as head of the Philippine Overseas Labor
Office, as ordered by Bello in a Jun 27 memo.

The only thing that could prevent that happening is if
Labatt Jolly somehow fails to fulfill conditions set for his resumption of
office: secure an exemption from a ban on the transfer of government personnel
ahead of the May 2019 election, and get all the paperwork done.

Romulo, who served as a deputy to two former labor attaches
in Hong Kong, Bernardino Julve and Romulo Salud, before being posted as labur attache in Toronto, does not seem perturbed by the
confusion that is emanating from the Department of Labor and Employment in Manila.

“Ang order po sa akin is to come to Hong
Kong as labor attaché, so, I’ll be the labor attaché until my
replacement comes. Kung ano po ang mandate ng opisina namin ay gagawin ko po
iyon,” Romulo replied when told about the possibility that there could be two
labatts come Aug 1.

“Siyempre, kasama na po ang taking care of the OFWs,” she
added.

She said there was no timeframe given for her term as the
new POLO head. However, reports from various sources indicate Romulo has only
one year to go before compulsory retirement.

On her first three days at work, Romulo was already in the
thick of the action, working on, among things, shortening the processing time
for work contracts.

She said she had required POLO staff to stay on after normal
office hours until they finish the work in hand for the day. That would cut
processing time, she said.

But she could not give a fixed number of days for processing
contracts because, she said, the documents would also have to pass through the
Consulate.

As of now, Labatt Nida said she would await mandates from
DOLE, but assured that all the training programs that have been going on at POLO
would continue.

Asked if she had any word from Bello about his reported
scrapping of the OFW ID which was promised early last year in place of the
much-disparaged overseas employment certificate or OEC, she said she had yet to
receive instructions on this.

As for her return to Hong Kong,
she said she was impressed by the physical changes in the city – the many new
buildings and ongoing works – and astonished by how much rents have risen.